Excavating apparatus.



Patented Bot. 30, |906). W. HENDERSON.

EXCAVATING APPARATUS.

,me Noam persas cc.. Pwovmrruo.. 5mm-un. n. c.

No. 660,656. y Pate-mu oct. so, |600.A w. HENDERSON. EXGAVATING APPARATUS.

(Application led Apg. 23, 1900.) v KNO Model 4 sheets-sheet 2.

No. 660,956. Patented 00L 30, |900.

W. HENDERSON.

`EXGAV'ATIN-I'i APPARATUS. (Appuauqn mea. Apr. 2s, 19nd.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet "3.

tu: Monms PETERS co. Fnorouwn.. wAsn-lmmou, n, c.

No. ,660,956f l, Patented oet. 30,1900.

w. HENnEnsoN. V

ExcAvATme APPARATUS.

(Application med Apr. 23, 1900,)1 Y i (No Modal.) l l4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Nirnn STATES.

PATENT einen.

WILLIAM HENDERSODLOF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ISAAC O. GORDON, OF SAMEPLACE.

EXCAVATING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION'formi-ng part of Letters-Patent No. 660,956, dated October 30, 1900. Application filed April Z3, 1900. Serial No. 13,970. No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM HENDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful lmp ovements in Excavating Apparatus; and I o declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains ro to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the tig-Y proved construction of rotary bucket exca-` vator; also, to provide an improved construction of tank to receive the material from the rotary bucket excavator preparatory to it bel ing deliveredV from the tank by the suctionpipe; also, to provide an improved construction whereby the tank will be adjusted to conform lo the various adjustments of the rotary bucket excavator, so that the tank 3o will bear the same relative position to the rotary bucket excavator in the different positions of the excavator, so that the delivery of the material from the buckets to the tank will be the same under all conditions; and it has further for its object to provide improveddetails of construction in the-several parts making up the whole, as also in the relative arrangement of the several parts. 5

To the accomplishment of the foregoing 4o and such otherobjects as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the combination and also in lthe construction and in the arrangement of the' several parts, as will be hereinafter more particularly described and then sought to be clearly defined by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, .forming a part hereof and in which- Figurel isaside elevation of the machine,

5o showing the excavating parts in two different positions, one position being indicated by dotted lines and the other by full lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 3

is a vertical section through the rotary excavator-bucket, the receivingtank, and the preliminary breaker. Fig'. 4 is a vertical cross-section onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 5, detail views of parts of the preliminary breaker; Fig. 6, a detail elevation of the receiving- 6o tank and a part of the rotary bucket excavator; Fig. 7, a vertical cross-section through the receiving-tank; Fig. 8, an end view ofv the receiving-tank looking from the end next to the bucket excavator; Fig. 9, a detail end 65 I'view of one of the side shields of the rotary bucket excavator; and Figs. l0 to 14, inclu- 'sive,detail views of a portion of the shaft which carries the rotary bucket excavator.

` In the drawings the numeral l designates 7o `a scow of any approved pattern provided with the framework 2, supporting the excavating mechanism, the scow in the illustration given being divided centrally at its fore part for the passage of the ladder which car 75 ries the rotarybucket excavator and suctionpipe. l

The numeral 3 designates the ladder,\vl1ich is hinged at its upper end to the rotary shaft V1 and at its lower ends is bolted to the plates 8o 5,through the hubs 6 of which passes the shaft 7 of the lrotary bucket excavator. This rotary` bucket excavator is composed of a drum 8, whose hub9 is keyed to the shaft 7, and from the periphery of the drum extends the buckets 10, which are formedof the plates 11, having anges 12, .to which are bolted the plates 13, which constitute the sides of the bucket, said side plates having rear extensions 14, which are riveted to the side plates 9o of the bucket next to the rear, thus forming a strong connection between the several buckets and at the same time serving to increase the depth of the buckets, so as to prevent material from passing sidewise from between the buckets. The bucketsy have.' teeth 15 bolted to their-cutting edges, so as to cut into the material to be excavated. The plates 5 have pivotally connected to them by the bolts 16 the lower ends of the bifurcated rods 17, roo theupper ends of which are connected together by a chain 18, having a ring 19, with which engages the hook 20 of the sheave frame 2l, which frame has secured to it one end of a cable 22, which after passing around a sheave 23, suspended from the top of the frame 2, passes around the sheave 24 of the frame 21, and thence upward and across the sheave 23, and thence over guide-rollers 24, and thence to and around the drum 25, secured to the shaft 26, which shaft has a gearwheel 27, from which a chain passes to a pinion 2S on a shaft 29, which derives motion through a driving-rod 30, actuated by an engine, (not shown,) and by the parts just described the rotary bucket excavator is raised and lowered, the ladder,during the operation of raising and lowering the bucket excavator, turning upon its hinged connection with the shaft 4.

The shaft 7 of the rotary bucket excavator has a cog-wheel 31 mounted thereon, which is connected by the chain 32 with a smaller cog-wheel 33, secured to the shaft 4, so that the bucket excavator is rotated by such means,lhe shaft 4 deriving its motion through a cog-wheel 34, mounted thereon and which is connected by a chain 35 with a cog-wheel 36 on the shaft 26.

The material excavated and raised by the bucket excavator is discharged into a tank 37, said tank being supported by arms 38 and 39, which are connected to the hubs 40,1nou nted so as to turn upon the shaft 7 of the bucket excavator, it being,r preferred to bolt said arms to extensions of said hubs, as indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, although they may be formed integrally with the hubs, the hubs being held in position by collars 41, secured by set-screws 42 to the shaft 7 or otherwise. A metal strap or rod 43 passes around the tank, being bolted thereto,and has connected to its upper ends the chain 44, to which is connected one end of a cable 45, which passes over a sheave 46, suspended from the ring 19 of the bucket-excavator-elevating mechanism, and thence over another sheave 47, s'uspended from the framework 2, and thence around the drum 48 on the shaft 4, by which means the tankis raised and lowered with the bucket excavator. By swinging the tank from the shaft 7, having that shaft as its centerof movement and connecting the cable 45 to the tank, the tank can be raised and lowered, so as to have it always standing in the proper relation to the bucket excavator as the excavator cuts in a higher or a lower plane.

For the purpose of insuring the discharge of the full contents of the excavator-buckets into the tank I provide the shields 49 at opposite sides of the upper portion of the bucket excavator, said shields standing from about the center of the rotary bucket excavator at the top and extending downwardly to the top of the receiving-tan k. These shields are bolted to the arms 50, which at their lower erds are bolted to extensions of the hubs 40, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 9 of the drawings, and the arms 50 are formed with a bend 51,

so that the lower parts of the armswill lie slightly within the drum portion of the bucket excavator, and the shields will lie outside of the buckets, close to the sides thereof, as indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. These shields being connected to the same hubs that the receivingtank is supported from will have the same movement as the receiving-tank, so as to preserve their proper position relatively to the tank and the bucket excavator in all positions of the bucket excavator.

For the purpose of closing the space between the buckets and the receiving-tank, so that no material will fall through said space in being discharged from the buckets into the tank,I provide the rear Lipper portion of the tank with a hinged ap 52, which is pressed toward the bucket by springs 53, which in the form illustrated encircle the rods 54, connected at one end to a part of the hinged flap and at the other end sliding through a plate 55 and provided at that end with a nut to permit adjustment of the rods and springs, said springs normally pressing the flap toward the buckets and being compressed when the ap is pressed inwardly by contact of the fingers of the bucket against a part of the flap. To the face of the Hap next to the buckets are riveted steel slices 56, which are curved inwardly at their upper ends and located so that in the rotation of the bucketexcavator the fingers or teeth l5 of the buckets will strike against the upper curved portion of these shoes and gradually press the iap inwardly as each bucket is moved past the Hap, the springs pressing the flap outwardly, so as to close the space between the buckets and the tank, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the inward position of the Hap being indicated in Fig. 6 of the dra win gs.

The tank is provided with a grating 57, composed of steel bars, located at a point below the top of the tank, the front portion of the tank being cut away from the lower end of the grating to the top, so that heavy stones and the like will slide over the grating and pass out of the tank, leaving other solid material to pass through the grating into the bottom of the tank. The solid matter passing below the grating is sucked out of the tank through the suction-pipe 58, which will be made telescoping, as usual, and will be supported by the ladder 3 and connect with either a steam-Vacuum or a centrifugal pump of any approved pattern, it not being necessary to illustrate the same. From the lower end of the suction-pipe branch pipes 59 are illustrated as passing through the bottom of the tank and having their mouths adjacent to the buckets at the point where the buckets are excavating the material, so that such material as is loosened up and which may not enter the buckets will be sucked through these branch pipes into the main suction-pipe and carried ed with the other material which ITO the suction-pipe sucks from the tank, so that said suction-pipe is thus made to carry ohl not only the material discharged into the tank from the buckets, but also such material as maybe loosened by the buckets and not carried np by them. Under the construction and arrangement described the material istaken from the tank by the suction-pipe as fast as it is delivered by the bucket excavator, and material not. taken up by the buckets is also carried oi.' by the suction-pipe, and the machine is thus given great capacity for work.

For the purpose of effectinga preliminary breaking up or cutting of the bed of the material in advance of the excavator-buckets I may employ a rotary cutter composed of a number of iingers or blades 60, mounted upon a shaft 6l, journaled in boxes 62, which will be connected by bars 63 and boxes 64 with the shaft 7 of the bucket excavator, the boxes 64 being free to turn on the shaft 7, so that the arms 63 can swing, and thus allow the rotary cutter to be raised and lowered, the bars 63 being preferably bolted to extensions of the hubs 62 and 64, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5 of the drawings. The cutter is raised and lowered by means of the cable 65, connected at one end to the chain 66, attached to extensions 67 of the hubs 62, said cable then passing around the sheave 68 and thence to the drum 69, mounted from the shaft 4.

The anchor-cables 70 extend from the winding-drum 7l on the shaft 26, and thence between ,the guide-sheaves 72 and over the rollers 73, and thence between the guide blocks or rollers 74, which blocks or rollers are connected by chains 75 with the ends of the shafts 7 and 64, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The shafts 7 and 64 are each provided with the eyes or clevises 76 for the attachmentthereto of the chains 75. These clevises are swiveled to the shafts and are formedl of collars 77, from the ends of Which the eyes 76 project, the collars being fitted over the reduced ends of the shafts and connected thereto by keys 78, which pass through openings made for them in the collars 77 and enter a groove 79, made in the ends of the shafts, which keys are held in place by means of a band 80, passed around the collars, so as to lie over the outer ends of the keys,and thus prevent them from leaving the grooves in' which they fit, said bands being clamped to the collars by means of bolts and nuts, as indicated at 8l. This makes a very strong and durable connection of the clevises to the shafts.

It will be understood that the drums 7l will be clutched to the shaft 26 by suitable clutches 82 when the drums are to be rotated and also that the drums 48 and 69 Will be clutched to the shaft 4 when they are to be rotated, said several drums being held against rotation when unclutched by any suitable form of pawl-and-ratchet construction or otherwise, as is common, and Iwhich features are not illustrated in detail, as they form no part of the invention, and any suitable construction for the purpose may be employed. It

may also be stated that the drum 25 is intended to be of any approved construction, preferably of the friction-clutch construction commonlyin use, and it need not be illustrated in detail, assuch construction forms no part of the invention. The shaft 26 is also provided with winch-heads 83, designed to receive cables which will be usedv for anchoring the scoW, but which need not be illustrated or described more fully, as the same forms no part of the inventionA I have illustrated and described the rotary bucket excavator and itsreceiving-tank as applied to the form of excavators in which the ladder is suspended through an opening in the forward part of the scow; but the same is used merely for purposes of illustration, and the features of the invention so far as the bucket excavator and the receiving-tank are concerned are the same whether applied to excavators having a ladder swinging as illustrated or to the other form of excavators, in which a laterally-swinging boom is used, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I have illustrated andv described what I consider to be the best construction in the details of the several parts; but changes may be made and essential features of my invention still be retained.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1 l. Inv an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, of the receiving-tank located to receive the material from the excavator and adapted toswing in the arc of a circle about the axis of rotation of the Yexcavator and independently of the excavator, and a suction-pipe for lifting the material from the tank, substantially as described.

2. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary bucket excavator and the receiving-tank, of the shields locatedI at opposite sides of the buckets and extending toward the tank to prevent the material from falling sidewise from the buckets and to direct it from the buckets into the tank, substantially as described. Y

3. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary bucket excavator', and the receiving-tank located to receive the material from the buckets, of means located between the upper part of the tank and the ex- IIC cavator to prevent the material from falling between the tank and excavator, substantially as described.

4. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator and the receiving-tank located outside of the excavator to receive the material therefrom, of the suction-pipe for lifting the material from the tank, and branch pipes communicating with the suction-pipe and having their receiving ends adjacent to the lower part of the excavator for delivering to the suction-pipe material loosened by the excavator and not lifted by the excavator, substantially as described.

5. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator and the receiving-tank, of a hinged flap between the tank and excavator to close the space between the two, said flap being actuated by a part of the excavator in the rotation of the excavator, substantially as described.

6. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator and a receiving-tank, of a spring-influenced flap between the tank and excavator to close the space between thetwo, Asaid iiap being actuated in one direction by a part of the excavator in its rotation, substantially as described.

7. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, and the receiving-tank, of the hinged flap between the tank and the excavator to close the space between the two, said iiap being provided with curved shoes for a part of the excavator to contact with in the rotationof the excavator, substantially as described.

S. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, of a swinging receiving-tank having the same center of movement as the excavator, and means for raising and lowering the said tank, substantially as described.

9. In an excavating,r apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, of the receiving-tank, arms supporting said tank from the shaft of the excavator, and means for raising and lowering said tank, substantially as described.

10. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, of the receiving-tank, and the shields at the sides of the excavator for directing material from the elevator into the tank, said tank and shields having a swinging movement about the excavator, substantially as described.

l1. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, of hubs rotatably mounted upon the shaft of the excavator, said hubs having arms extending therefrom some of which support a receivingtank and others support shields for directing the material from the excavator to the tank, substantially as described.

l2. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, of means for raising and lowering the excavator, a swinging receiving-tank adapted to be adj listed to maintain the same relative position in relation to the excavator, and means for raising and lowering the tank for its adjustment, substantially as described.

I3. In an excavating apparatus, a rotary excavator composed of a rotary drum, plates secured to said drum and bent to form the bottoms of buckets carried by the dru in, plates applied to constitute the opposite sides of said buckets said plates having rear extensions secured to the plates of the next succeeding bucket, and means for rotating said excavator, substantially as described.

Vllt. In an excavating apparatus, the combination of the rotary bucket excavator, the shaft upon which the excavator is mounted, the hubs mounted loosely upon said shaft, the ladder connected to a part of said hubs, the forks or yokes connected to a part of said hubs, and mechanism connected with said yokes for raising and lowering the excavator and the ladder, substantially as described.

15. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary excavator, ot the hubs mounted upon the shaft of said elevator to rotate thereon, said hubs having extensions, the bars bolted to said extensions, the rotary shaft carrying cutters and j ournaled in hubs having extensions to which the ends of said bars are bolted, and means for raising and lowering said bars carrying the cutters, substantially as described.

16. In an excavating apparatus, the combination with the rotary bucket excavator, of a rotary cuttenshaft connected with the shaft of the rotary excavator, guide-blocks for anchor-cables connected by chains to the shafts of the excavator and the cutter by a swiveled connection, said connection consisting of clevises fitting around the ends of the shafts, keys passing through the clevises into grooves formed in the shafts, and clampingrings passed around the clevises over said keys, substantially as described.

17. An excavating apparatus comprising a rotary bucket excavator, a receiving-tank supported by arms having a swinging movement about the excavator, shields located at the sides ofthe excavator and having a swinging movement about the same, a suction-pipe for lifting material from the receiving-tank, means for raising and lowering the excavator, and means for adjusting the receiving-tank and the shields about the excavator, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HENDERSON.

W'itnesses:

EDELL A. DICK, WM. G. HENDERSON.

IOO

IIO 

